Commentary on Deuteronomy, Commentary · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
Verſe 1. NOW therefore hearken, O Iſrael.] Having Verſe 1 commemorated ſeveral Benefits which God had beſtowed upon them, ſince their coming out of Egypt, and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai; with ſeveral ſevere Puniſhments which he had inflicted on them for their Diſobedience to it; Moſes proceeds now to exhort them earneſtly to the obſervance of it.
Ʋnto the Statutes.] Theſe ſeem to be ſuch Laws as concerned the Worſhip of God.
And the Judgments.] And then theſe were ſuch as concerned their Dealings one with another. Which two words comprehend all that is ſignified by Teſtimonies and Precepts alſo, in other places.
Which I teach you, for to do them.] Which he was about to ſet before them; and preſs upon their Practice.
That ye may live, and go in, and poſſeſs the Land, which the LORD God of your Fathers giveth you.] Not periſh as their Fore-fathers had done in their Rebellion: but be happy, and enjoy what God had promiſed, and was ready now to beſtow upon them.
Verſe 2 Ver. 2. Ye ſhall not add unto the word which I command you, neither ſhall ye diminiſh from it.] This is thought by ſome to ſignifie, that they ſhould not make the leaſt alteration in the Laws he had given them, about the Rites of Divine Worſhip, and Abſtinence from ſeveral Meats, and ſuch like things: which were diſtinctive Marks, whereby they were ſeparated from other Nations to be a peculiar People to him. Thus Chiskuni interprets theſe words, Thou ſhalt not add fear, upon the fear of the bleſſed God. That is, any other Worſhip to the Divine Worſhip preſcribed by theſe Laws, nor diminiſh that Worſhip. Which Interpretation ſeems to be warranted, by what follows, Thy eyes have ſeen what the LORD thy God did, becauſe of Baal-Peor. But in the words beforegoing (which introduce theſe) Judgments being mentioned as well as Statutes, there muſt be a larger ſenſe of this Injunction, which relates to all the Laws of God: and the meaning ſeems to be, Ye ſhall not tranſgreſs any of theſe Precepts, either by doing any thing contrary to them, which was to add; or omitting any thing which they required, which was to diminiſh. Thus Grotius interprets it upon 2 Corinth. XI. 24. Addere ad legem est facere quod lex vetat, diminuere est omittere quod lex jubet. But which way ſoever we take it, nothing is more certain than that this Prohibition preſerved theſe Books from any alteration, ſince the time they were written: For the whole Body of the People acknowledging their Divine Authority, none of them dared to change any thing, either by addition, or diminution. Of which there is a wonderful inſtance in the People that came out of Aſſyria, (in the room of the Iſraelites, who were tranſported thither) to inhabit the Country of Samaria; who receiving this Law, their Poſterity have kept it all along to this day, as uncorrupted, as the Jews themſelves have done; although they were their mortal Enemies, and have been expoſed to all the Changes and Revolutions that can befall a Nation, during the long interval of Two thouſand and four hundred years. Thus the moſt learned Dr. Alix obſerves, in his Reflections upon the four last Books of Moſes, p. 144. And I do not ſee, why the perfection of the Scripture, without the Oral Law of the Jews, ſhould not be thought to be eſtabliſhed by theſe words, as another learned Perſon (Joh. Wagenſeil) underſtands them in his Confut. Carminis Lipmanni, p. 585. Yet, as the forenamed Chiskuni notes, it doth not ſeem reaſonable to conclude from hence, that they were prohibited to add any Conſtitutions, as a Hedge and Fence to the Law; or as an Explication of it, when the ſenſe was doubtful. See Mr. Thorndike in his Rights of the Church in a Chriſtian State, p. 180, &c.
That ye may keep the Commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you.] This juſtifies the Explication I gave of the foregoing words, as reſpecting all God's Laws: and XII. 32. makes it more plain. And indeed, God being their Law-giver, it was the higheſt preſumption to make any Alteration in any of his Laws.
Verſe 3 Ver. 3. Your eyes have ſeen what the LORD did becauſe of Baal-peor, &c.] How he cut off Twenty four thouſand by a Plague, and by the Hand of Juſtice, who had been guilty of Idolatry by the enticements of the Midianitiſh Women, XXV. Numb. 5, 9. Which ſeems to be a reaſon, why they ſhould take a ſpecial Care about the Worſhip of God; that nothing were done contrary to the Laws he had ordained concerning it.
For all the men that followed Baal-peor, the LORD thy God hath deſtroyed them from among you.] The Judges put to death all thoſe that they knew to be guilty; and the Hand of God found out all the reſt; ſo that there was not a Man of them left, who was not ſwept away by the Peſtilence.
Verſe 4 Ver. 4. But ye that did cleave unto the LORD.] Did not depart from his Worſhip; but bewailed the Apoſtaſie of ſome of their Brethren, XXV Numb. 6.
Are alive every one of you this day.] A ſingular Providence watched over them, to preſerve them in ſuch good health, that not one in ſo many Thouſands was dead ſince that time. Nor in the War with the Midianites, wherein they ſlew all the Males, did they loſe ſo much as one Man, XXXI Numb. 7, 49.
Ver. 5. Behold, I have taught you Statutes and Judgments.] Verſe 5 v. 1.
Even as the LORD my God commanded me.] Sincerely and uprightly; without adding any thing of my ſelf, or diminiſhing any thing that he ſaid.
That ye ſhould do ſo in the Land whither ye go to poſſeſs it.] To be the Rule of your Life, when ye come into the Land of Canaan.
Ver. 6. Keep therefore and do them, for this is your Verſe 6 wiſdom and underſtanding, in the fight of all the Nations.] It is your intereſt to obſerve them, as you will ſoon find by experience: which will teach you that it is not only the wiſeſt Courſe in it ſelf, but will get you the reputation of being a wiſe People among all your Neighbours.
Which ſhall hear of all theſe Statutes.] There being mention before (v. 1, 5.) of Judgments, as well as Statutes, and here only of the latter, Abarbinel thence infers, That even thoſe Laws which depended wholly upon the Will and Pleaſure of God, and for which they could give no reaſon, (for ſuch they underſtood by Chukkim) would procure them very great Honour, if they were carefully obſerved. For the Nations ſeeing how wonderfully they proſpered, would be apt to impute it to theſe extraordinary Preſcriptions which they followed. Juſt, ſaith he, as a Phyſician, who cures deſperate Diſeaſes, by ſome ſmall trifling Remedies (as they ſeem to others) is highly applauded for the profoundneſs of his Knowledge and Wiſdom. But Maimonides takes this word Statutes to comprehend all the Laws of God; and undertakes to ſhow that all the Six hundred and thirteen Precepts, have a wiſe End in them, for the Profit and Benefit of thoſe that obſerve them; either to beget ſome wholeſome Opinion in their Mind, or to pull out ſome perverſe one; either to inſtitute ſome good Order, or to take away Iniquity, &c. See More Nevochim, P. III. Cap. XXXI.
And ſay, Surely this Nation is a wiſe and underſtanding People.] Who continued in Safety, Liberty, and Proſperity, abounding with all manner of Bleſſings, while they continued all to go up to worſhip One God ſincerely, at one Place, at certain Set-times; as if the whole Nation was but one Family. All the reſt of their Laws, alſo, were admirably fitted to unite them unto God, and one to another; and conſequently, to make them appear a wiſe People, in the Eyes of other Nations; whoſe Writers have not only highly magnified Moſes, but their Law-Givers have tranſcribed ſeveral of his Laws into their own Conſtitutions. This appears by the old Attick Laws, and thoſe of the Twelve Tables, as many learned Men have obſerved: Nay, the Oracle reported by Porphyry, in Euſebius his Praeparatio Evangelica, Lib. IX. Cap. X. thus extols this Nation:
foreign
foreign.
The Chaldaeans and the Hebrews, (who came from Chaldaea) are the only wiſe People, who worſhip God, the Eternal King, in a pure manner. And the Oracle of Apollo Clarius, recorded by Macrobius, Lib. I. Saturnal. Cap. 18. is no leſs remarkable: foreign. Acknowledge Jao, (ſo they pronounced the Name JEHOVAH) to be the highest God of all. For though Macrobius fancied the Sun to be here called foreign, (no Body can tell why) yet Diodorus Siculus acknowledges foreign to be the God, from whom Moſes pretended to have his Laws, i. e. JEHOVAH.
Ver. 7. For what Nation is there ſo great, who hath Verſe 7 God ſo nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?] Both Onkelos, and the Paraphraſe of Jonathan, and likewiſe the Hieruſalem Targum, are very ſignificant upon this place: What People is there who have a God that approaches to them, ſo as the LORD our God doth to us? At whatſoever Hour we cry unto him, he anſwers us. It is the manner of other People, to carry their Gods upon their Shoulders, to ſhew that they are near to them; when, alas! they are afar off, and cannot hear them. But the LORD our God ſits on his Throne on high, and hears our Prayers, whatſoever time we call upon him, &c. To which may be added, that they had a Symbol of God's Preſence continually among them, in the Holy Place, where he dwelt with them, and Moſes, whenſoever he pleaſed, conſulted him in all difficult Affairs; as their High-Prieſt might do, with the Ʋrim and Thummim, in all times to come.
Ver. 8. And what Nation is there ſo great, that hath Verſe 8 Statutes and Judgments ſo righteous, as all this Law which I ſet before you this Day?] The true Greatneſs of a Nation, (it appears by this and the foregoing Verſe) conſiſts in the ſincere Worſhip of God, and in the upright Adminiſtration of Juſtice. Both which were ſo provided for by the Divine Laws among the Jews, that no Nation could compare with them, or was really ſo great as they were: For though their Country was but ſmall, and they were often oppreſſed by ſeveral cruel Enemies, who deſired their Extirpation; yet they recovered themſelves, and kept their Laws in their worſt Condition (when commonly they beſt obſerved them:) Inſomuch, that as a very learned Perſon of our own Church, long ago, obſerved: After ſo many Changes and Alterations as there were in their State, from better to worſe, and back again; after ſo many Victories got by them over others, and ſo many Captivities of their Perſons, and Deſolations of their Country, as others had wrought, they continued ſtill one and the ſame People, governed by the ſame Laws, under ſeveral great and potent Monarchies. The ſucceſſive Riſe and Fall of Three, of which they were preſerved to behold; and in their declining State, able to ſtand out a great while againſt the Fourth, the mightieſt that ever was on Earth, and that when this Monarchy was in its full ſtrength. This is a plain Demonſtration of the Truth of theſe Words of Moſes, That no Nation was ſo great as they. See Dr. Jackson's Firſt Book upon the Creed, Chap. XXI.
Maimonides obſerves, That the word Zaddikim, which we tranſlate righteous, ſignifies as much as equal and proportionate: Such, ſaith he, were all theſe Laws of God; in which there was no exceſs, by the preſcription of long Pilgrimages, or ſevere Faſtings; nor any defect, which might open the Window to any Vice, or make them careleſs in the Practice of Vertue. More Nevochim, P. II. Cap. XXXIX.
Verſe 9 Ver. 9. Only take heed to thy ſelf, and keep thy Soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thou hast ſeen, &c.] Their only danger was, leſt they ſhould grow careleſs and unmindful of all the wonderful Things that God had done for them: Which he therefore exhorts them to think of frequently, and to keep in Memory and lay to Heart; ſo that they might preſerve the Sence of them as long as they lived, and likewiſe teach all Poſterity to be mindful of them.
Ver. 10. Eſpecially the Day that thou ſtoodest before Verſe 10 the LORD thy God in Horeb.] But above all, that memorable Day, when the LORD delivered his Law to them from Mount Sinai; at which the oldeſt of them were preſent, and had ſeen and heard what he ſaid, and how it was delivered.
When the LORD ſaid unto me, Gather me the People together.] Unto the foot of Mount Sinai; where they ſtood at ſuch a diſtance from it as God preſcribed, XIX Exod. 10, 11, 12, 13.
And I will make them hear my Words] XIX Exod. 9, &c. XX Exod. 1, &c.
That they may learn to fear me all the Days that they ſhall live upon the Earth, &c.] For thoſe Words which they heard, were pronounced in ſo terrible a manner, as to make them dread to offend his Majeſty, and to inſtruct their Children to ſtand in awe of him.
Ver. 11. And ye came near, and ſtood under the Verſe 11 Mountain.] XIX Exod. 17.
And the Mountain burnt with Fire.] XIX. Exod. 16, 18.
Into the midst of Heaven.] Into the middle of the Air, which is frequently called Heaven in Scripture; as the Fouls of Heaven are the Fouls of the Air: But whether the Fire flamed up preciſely, into the very midſt of the lower Region of the Air, or only a great height, is not material; either way, the Expreſſion is proper enough.
Ver. 12. And the LORD ſpake unto you out of the midst of the Fire.] XIX Exod 20. XX. 1, 22.
Ye heard the Voice of the Words.] XX Exod. 19.
Verſe 12 But ſaw no Similitude.] Tho' ſometimes the Divine Majeſty ſeems to have appeared in a viſible Shape, (VII. Dan. 9, 10.) yet when he came to give them his Law, he would not appear in the Figure of a Man, or any other thing, that might ſeem to repreſent him to their outward Senſes, or their Imagination: For it had been dangerous then to manifeſt himſelf, under any Reſemblance, when he forbad them to make any Reſemblance of him. They would have thought, he forbad them to make any other Reſemblance, but that wherein he ſhewed himſelf to them; in which they would have concluded, it was lawful to repreſent him.
Only ye heard a Voice.] From hence ſome of the Jews would gather, that the People only heard the Sound of God's Words, when he ſpake the Ten Commandments; but not the Diſtinction of the Sound, ſo as to underſtand the Senſe of what he ſaid. Thus Maimonides, in his More Nevochim, P. 2. Cap. XXXIII. Which is manifeſtly falſe, as appears from Ver. 10. and 13. and XX Exod. 22. For therefore the Day wherein he ſpake to them in Horeb was ſo remarkable, as never to be forgotten; becauſe he made them hear his Words, ſo that they might learn to fear him, &c. For tho' he did not appear in the likeneſs of any thing to them, yet he vouchſafed to ſpeak to them plainly in their own Language, that they might be inſtructed in their Duty; both which was to keep them from Idolatry. He did not let them ſee any Shape, that they might not make any Image of him, to worſhip it or him by it, after the manner of the Heathens; but he let them hear his Voice, that they might not go and worſhip any other Gods, which the Heathens pretended ſpake to them.
Ver. 13. And he declared unto you his Covenant, which Verſe 13 he commanded you to perform, even ten Commandments.] Theſe were the principal Laws which they covenanted with him to obſerve, tho' afterwards he added others, after the Tenor of which he made a Covenant with them, XXXIV Exod. 27.
And he wrote them upon two Tables of Stone.] XXIV Exod. 12. XXXIV. 28.
Ver. 14. And the LORD commanded me, at that Verſe 14 time, to teach you Statutes and Judgments, that ye might do them in the Land whither ye go over to poſſeſs it.] This doth not ſignifie, that they themſelves did not hear the Ten Words from Mount Sinai, but were taught them by Moſes, (as Maimonides fancies in the forenamed place) for it plainly relates to the reſt of the Laws, which God immediately after gave him, (Exod. XXI. XXII. XXIII.) It being their own deſire, that God would ſpeak to them no more by himſelf, but communicate the reſt of his Will by Moſes, XX Exod. 19. And accordingly he told the People, all the Words of the LORD, and all the Judgments, which he delivered to him, XXIV Exod. 3.
All this will appear more plainly from the next Chapter of this Book, v. 22, &c.
It is a meer Imagination of thoſe Jews, who take the Statutes and Judgments here mentioned, for their Oral Law, as Aben Ezra, R. Solomon, R. Bechai, and others do, upon this place: Who ſay, That when God gave Moſes the written Law, he expounded it to him: Which Expoſition he delivered to Joſhua, and he to the LXX Elders, &c. ſo that it came down to them in a ſucceſſive Tradition.
Ver. 15. Take ye therefore good heed to your ſelves, (for ye ſaw no manner of ſimilitude on the Day that the Verſe 15 LORD ſpake unto you in Horeb, out of the midst of the Fire.] He gives them a ſpecial Caution about this, becauſe the Nations of the World were ſo prone to make Images of their Gods; which he expreſly forbids in the Second Commandment. Upon this Text the preſent Jews ground the Third Article of their Faith; which is, that God is incorporeal.
Verſe 16 Ver. 16. Lest ye corrupt your ſelves.] By worſhipping any thing but God himſelf alone. Unto whom they being eſpouſed, the giving Divine Worſhip unto any thing elſe, was ſuch a Corruption as Adultery is in a married Woman.
And make you a graven Image, the ſimilitude of any Figure.] See the Second Commandment, XX Exod. 3, 4.
The likeneſs of Male or Female.] The repreſentation of God in Humane Shape is firſt forbidden, becauſe it was moſt common among the Heathens. Therefore I cannot think this relates to the Egyptian Worſhip, who honoured Oxen as ſacred to Oſiris, and Cows as ſacred to Iſis. Unto which Mr. Selden thinks the LXX. had reſpect, when they tranſlated theſe words, foreign. De Diis Syris, Syntag. I. Cap. IV.
Verſe 17 Ver. 17. The likeneſs of any Beast that is on the Earth, &c.] The word Or is to be here ſupplied, and in all that follows, in this manner: Or the likeneſs of any Beast that is on the Earth; or the likeneſs of any winged Fowl that flieth in the Air: Where Col tzippor Canaph, which we tranſlate, Any winged Fowl, ſignifies all Birds, and Inſects, that fly in the Air: For in the ſhape of ſuch Creatures alſo, the Heathen repreſented their Gods, or ſome of their Qualities: For not only Oxen were ſacred to Apis, and Rams to Jupiter Ammon, but Hawks, and Eagles, and even Beetles to other Deities.
Ver. 18. Or the likeneſs of any thing that creepeth on Verſe 18 the Ground.] Nothing was more common among the Heathen, than the Worſhip of Serpents.
Or the likeneſs of any Fiſh that is in the Waters.] The famous Dagon, whom the Philiſtims worſhipped, was a Fiſh with an Humane Face, Hands, and Feet. Certain it is, the Syrians worſhipped a Fiſh, as Cicero tells us in his third Book of the Nature of the Gods, Syri Piſcem venerantur: Which Mr. Selden thinks, relates to the famous Goddeſs, Atazgatis; which is a word made out of the Hebrew Addir-dag, i. e. magnificent, or potent Fiſh. See De Diis Syris, Syntag. II. Cap. II. The Egyptians were famous, in After-times, for worſhipping all ſorts of Animals; and if one could find they were ſo in the Days of Moſes, it might be aſſigned as the moſt probable Reaſon of his cautioning the Iſraelites againſt theſe things ſo particularly, they being lately come out of Egypt.
Ver. 19. And lest thou lift up thine Eyes unto Heaven.] Verſe 19 From hence, I believe, that common Speech among the Arabians was derived, Take heed how thou gazest on the Splendor of the Stars: Which is in the firſt Century of Arabick Proverbs, ſet forth by Erpenius, (Prov. XXVIII.) who ſaith he knew not what to make of it: But I take it to be a Caveat againſt Idolatry, to which the ancient Arabians were addicted.
And when thou ſeest the Sun, and the Moon, and the Stars, even all the Host of Heaven.] The moſt ancient Idolatry of all other, ſeems to have been the Worſhip of the Sun, and the reſt of the heavenly Bodies, which began among the Chaldaeans: For there is not any God, or Goddeſs, among the ancient Gentiles, but hath a reſpect to the Sun, or the Moon, as Gisbertus Cuperus hath very plainly demonſtrated in his Harpocrates, P. 87, &c. 108, &c. And a very learned Man of our own, hath lately ſaid a great deal on the ſame Subject. See Appendix to the Antiquity of Palmyra, Cap. IV. by Mr. A. Seller. And Maimon. More Nevoch. P. III. Cap. XXX.
Shouldest be driven to worſhip them, and ſerve them.] Drawn in, enticed, and deceived, (as Onkelos, and the LXX. tranſlate it) either by the inſtigation of ſome evil Genius, or admiration of their Splendor, or imitation of other Nations, or a vain Opinion that ſome Divinity inhabits ſuch illuſtrious Bodies, or out of a Senſe of the Benefits Mankind receive by them: For the chief Philoſophers themſelves were led by their weak Reaſonings into this Error, as appears even by Plato, who ſaith, It is moſt juſt that the Heaven ſhould be worſhipped with all the Gods and Demons, and that we ſhould, foreign, &c. as he ſpeaks in his Epinomis. See Euſebius, in his Praepar. Evang. Lib. XIII. Cap. XVIII. where he ſhews how much better the Hebrews ſpeak in this matter; and quotes ſome Words of Plato, out of a Work of his, not now extant, for the Explication of theſe Words of Moſes. And to make this Idolatry ſeem more reaſonable, ſome of the Philoſophers aſſerted the Sun to be indued with Underſtanding; and therefore is called by Proclus, foreign, The King of Intellectual Fire, to diſtinguiſh it from other Fires, which are without Underſtanding: And from thence, in one of the Coyns of Caracalla, there is over the Sun, ſurrounded with Rays, the word PROVIDENTIA. In ſhort, the World had been ſo long ſettled in this Worſhip, that it was no eaſie matter, when the Son of God came, to root it out: For the Eſſens (the beſt Sect among the Jews) ſeem to have had a Tang of this Superſtition, as Joſephus repreſents them, Lib. II. De Bello Judaico, Cap. VII. Some indeed excuſe them, as if they only admired the Sun, as the moſt excellent Work of God, which they expreſſed by ſome kind of Adoration: But Joſephus expreſly tells us, That early in the Morning, they directed to him, foreign, as if they beſeeched him to riſe. And this ſtuck ſtill in the Minds of ſome who profeſſed Chriſtianity; particularly the Followers of Baſilides, and the Manichees, who called the Sun and the Moon by the Name of Gods; and, ſometimes, called the Sun, Christ, as Theodoret tells us, Lib. I. Cap. XXVI. And Epiphanius, and St. Auſtin, ſay the ſame, in more places than one. No wonder therefore, that Julian the Apoſtate ſhould ſay, that God produced, foreign, Out of himſelf the Sun, the greatest God, in all things like unto himſelf: For which he quotes Plato, in his famous Oration, in praiſe of the Sun: Where he ſaith, The ſame Sun hath filled the Heaven with innumerable other Gods, page 146. foreign, The whole Heaven is full of Gods from the Sun.
Which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all Nations under the whole Heaven.] The Sence is very plain; that all Nations under Heaven have the Benefit of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, as well as the Jews; who were therefore to worſhip him alone, who is the LORD of them all, and hath made them to be Miniſters unto us. This R. Solomon ſaw, and yet he could not ſtick to it, but fell into the vain Fancy of the generality of the Jews, that God hath diſtributed the Nations of the World under the Government of ſeveral Stars, which Stars are under the Government of Angels; but the Jews under the Government of God alone, and not ſubject to any Planet. Which hath no Foundation at all; much leſs can we think, that God appointed the Nations of the World to worſhip the heavenly Hoſt, leſt they ſhould be Atheiſts, as Clemens Alexandrinus, and Juſtin Martyr fancy from this place: Unleſs they mean, that God for their Sins delivered them up to this Impiety; which ſeveral great Men ſince have thought to be the true meaning of theſe words: For there are no ſuch words now to be found in the LXX. as they alledge, foreign.
There is one who takes the word Chalak, which we tranſlate Divide, to ſignifie to Blandiſh, and makes this the Sence: That God places theſe great Luminaries in the Heavens, to invite and allure all Nations to admire and adore him, the Creator of them. And indeed, in the Conjugation which the Hebrews call Hiphil, this word doth ſignifie to ſoften and ſmooth, and conſequently to allure; but it never ſignifies ſo, in that they call Kall.
Maimonides makes the Sence of Moſes's Argument to be this: God hath made the Sun and Moon to be Miniſters; not to be worſhipped: According to that, I Gen. 18. Which made the Pſalmist ſo particularly call upon all the heavenly Bodies, to praiſe the LORD, CXLVIII Pſal. More Nevoch. P. II. Cap. V.
Verſe 20 Ver. 20. But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the Iron Furnace. This is a Phraſe uſed alſo by Solomon, I Kings VIII. 51. and by Jeremiah XI. 4. to expreſs the moſt cruel Servitude; wherein God ſuffered them to be tried, as Metals are in a Furnace of Iron, red hot: For he doth not allude to their making of Bricks (as ſome imagine), which were not wrought in an Iron Furnace.
To be unto him a People of Inheritance, as ye are at this Day.] Theſe were two powerful Arguments to induce them to be obedient: That they were not only delivered from the hardeſt Slavery; but now made God's peculiar People, (ſee XIX Exod. 5.) whom he had purchaſed for his Inheritance, i. e. to be his People for ever.
From this Verſe, Sir John Marſham gathers, That Moſes had reſpect, in the foregoing Verſes, to the Egyptian Superſtition; as if he had ſaid, Excuſſo ſervitutis jugo, etiam excutienda ſunt Aegypti foreign, having ſhaken off the Egyptian Yoke, they were alſo to ſhake off their abominable Idols: For the inviſible God is not to be worſhipped by Images, or Symbols. So that when he forbids them, v. 16. To make a graven Image, the ſimilitude of any Figure, the likeneſs of Male and Female, he thinks Moſes hath reſpect to the Boves utriuſque ſexus Sacri, The Sacred Beeves of both kind; the Males to Oſiris, the Females to Iſis. And he mentions, the likeneſs of any Beast that is on the Earth, v. 17. Becauſe all the Egyptians worſhipped not only the Creatures before-mentioned, but Canem & Felem, a Dog and a Cat: The Thebans and Saitae worſhipped Sheep; the Mendeſians a Goat; and others of them, Wolves and Lyons: And he adds, The likeneſs of any winged Fowl that flieth in the Air; becauſe all the Egyptians worſhipped an Hawk, and the Bird called Ibis; and the Thebans an Eagle. In v. 18. he mentions, the ſimilitude of any thing that creepeth on the Ground; becauſe about Thebes, Serpents were ſacred to Jupiter: And the likeneſs of any Fiſh that is in the Waters; becauſe all Egypt worſhipped certain Fiſhes, and ſome of them the Crocodile, and the Hippotamus. And as for the Sun, Moon, and Stars, v. 19. the worſhip of them was common to the Egyptians, with all other Nations. All this he juſtifies out of good Authors; and it might paſs for Truth, had we any certainty that the Egyptians in the time of Moſes, were as ſottiſh as they were in the time of Herodotus. See Seculum IX. Sect. de Idololatria.
Verſe 21 Ver. 21. Furthermore; or rather, But
The LORD was angry with me for your ſakes.] He remembers this again, (tho' he had mentioned it twice before, I. 37. III. 26.) that they might be the more deeply ſenſible of the danger of offending God, ſince ſuch a Man as he was excluded from the good Land, for one ſingle Fault. Or hereby he would magnifie the Goodneſs of God to them, who tho' great Offenders, had a Priviledge granted to them, which was denied him.
And ſware that ſhould not go over Jordan, &c.] He only told him ſo at the firſt, XX Numb. 12. but upon Moſes's importunate Intreaty, that he would revoke the Sentence, (of which we read in the foregoing Chapter of this Book) it ſeems he ſilenced him, by confirming his Threatning with an Oath.
Verſe 22 Ver. 22. But I must die in this Land, I must not go over Jordan.] See XXVII. Numb. 12, 13, 14. His frequent Repetition of this, ſhews how near it went to his Heart. But ye ſhall go over, and poſſeſs that good Land. God's Promiſe to them, he would have them think, was as irrevocable as his Threatning againſt him.
Ver. 23. Take heed unto your ſelves, lest ye forget the Covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven Image, &c.] For this Verſe 23 was the principal thing in the Covenant, that they ſhould worſhip him alone. Which is the reaſon it is ſo often repeated, and was immediately after the delivery of the Law from Mount Sinai, mentioned alone; as if it was the only thing he had ſaid unto them, XX Exod. 22, 23. Ye have ſeen that I have talked with you from Heaven: Ye ſhall not make with me Gods of Silver; neither ſhall ye make unto you Gods of Gold.
Ver. 24. For the LORD thy God is a conſuming Verſe 24 Fire.] So he appeared upon the Mount, when he delivered his Laws from thence in flaming Fire, XXIV Exod. 17. The learned Huetius thinks, that from theſe Words of Moſes, the ancient Perſians took up the Worſhip of Fire; at firſt, only as a Reſemblance of God, or a Symbol of him, (as Maximus Tyrius ſaith, Diſſert. XVIII.) but afterwards, as God himſelf, Demonſtr. Evangel. p. 94.
Even a jealous God.] Who cannot endure any Rival in your Affection: See XX Exod. 5. Theſe were two awakening Arguments to keep them from Idolatry; that God cannot endure it, and will be very terrible in his puniſhment of it.
Ver. 25. When thou ſhalt beget Children, and Childrens Verſe 25 Children, and ſhalt have remained long in the Land.] When they were very much multiplied, and had been long ſettled in the poſſeſſion of the Land of Canaan.
And ſhall corrupt your ſelves.] By the Worſhip of other Gods.
And make a graven Image, or the likeneſs of any thing.] Which he had ſtrictly prohibited, and ſolemnly caution'd them to beware of, v. 23.
And ſhalt do evil in the ſight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to Anger.] By imitating the idolatrous Cuſtoms of other Nations.
Verſe 26 Ver. 26. I call Heaven and Earth to witneſs against you this Day.] A ſolemn kind of Aſſeveration; that as ſurely as the Heaven and the Earth ſhall endure, they ſhould utterly periſh.
That ye ſhall ſoon utterly periſh from off this Land, whereunto ye go, &c.] As ſoon as the Meaſure of your Iniquity is filled up, ye ſhall ſpeedily be deſtroyed without Remedy. Which the Hebrews refer to the Captivity by Salmaneſer, and Nebuchadnezzar; after they had been almoſt Eight hundred Years in this Country; and ſo might be ſaid, to have remained long in the Land.
Verſe 27 Ver. 27. And the LORD ſhall ſcatter you among the Nations.] See XXVI Levit. 33.
And ye ſhall be left few in number among the Heathen, &c.] XXVI Levit. 22.
Verſe 28 Ver. 28. And there ye ſhall ſerve Gods, the work of Mens Hands, Wood, and Stone, &c.] The Idols of the Heathen: To the Worſhip of which he threatens to abandon them, as a puniſhment for their Apoſtaſie from God. And the Heathen ſometime compelled them to worſhip their Gods, as we read in the Third of Daniel.
Which neither ſee, nor hear, nor eat, nor ſmell.] This is a Deſcription of the moſt ſtupid Idolatry, to which they ſhould be delivered, if they fell from God. See XXI Numb. 29.
Ver. 29. But if from thence than ſhalt ſeek the LORD thy God.] When they were ſcattered among the Heathen, v. 27.
Thou ſhalt find him, if thou ſeek him with all thy Heart, Verſe 29 and all thy Soul.] If they then repented ſincerely, and became unfeigned Worſhippers of the LORD their God alone, he promiſes them forgiveneſs.
Ver. 30. When thou art in tribulation, and all theſe Verſe 30 things are come upon thee.] In great diſtreſs, by the execution of the foregoing Threatnings.
Even in the latter Days.] In future Times, or in their moſt declining State. The Jews themſelves apply this to the preſent State, wherein they now are, and have been many Years; as appears by the ancient Nitzacon, ſet forth lately by Wagenſeil, p. 254. where he ſaith the whole Nation muſt repent, before God ſend Deliverance unto them.
If thou turn to the LORD thy God, and ſhalt be obedient to his Voice.] The great end of puniſhment was to convert them, and make them more obſervant of God's Commands.
Ver. 31. For the LORD thy God is a merciful God.] Verſe 31 See XXXIV Exod. 6, 7. XIV. Numb. 17, 18.
He will not forſake thee, neither deſtroy thee, &c.] He promiſes not to caſt them off, nor deſtroy them utterly, (tho' they were utterly thrown out of their Land, v. 26.) but reſtore them to his Favour, according to the Covenant made with their Fathers, and confirmed by an Oath, XVII Gen. 19. XXII. 16, 17. See XXVI Levit. 44, 45.
Ver. 32. For ask now of the Days that are past, which Verſe 32 were before thee, ſince the day that God created Man upon the Earth, &c.] Turn over the Annals of the whole World, from one end of it to the other, ever ſince it was made, and ſearch, whether thou canſt find any thing like to that which God hath done for you. Which R. Iſaac thus gloſſes in his Munimen Fidei, (lately ſet forth by Wagenſeil, p. 103.) From the Creation of the World, till their going out of Egypt, there were paſſed Two thouſand four hundred and forty eight Years; and yet in all that long Tract of Time, there never were ſeen, or heard, in any part of the World, ſuch prodigious Miracles as were wrought to bring them out of Egypt; and afterward, in leading them through the Red Sea; raining Manna on them; and the appearance of the Divine Majeſty at Mount Sinai, &c.
Verſe 33 Ver. 33. Did ever People hear the Voice of God ſpeaking out of the midst of Fire, as thou hast heard, and live?] Here was a double, or rather tripple Prodigy, never heard of before, that God ſhould ſpeak to them audibly and diſtinctly, ſo long as to inform them in their Duty towards himſelf, and one another; and this out of the midſt of devouring Flames, and without the leaſt hurt to any one of them, XX Exod. 18. XX. 18. XXIV. 17.
Verſe 34 Ver. 34. Or hath God aſſayed to go and take him a Nation from the midst of another Nation.] Another Wonder, never before heard of; that God, by two Men alone, Moſes and Aaron, ſhould demand the Delivery of a Nation, under the Power of another Nation far greater and ſtronger than themſelves, and effect it alſo, by no other Means but ſuch as here follow:
By Temptations.] This word may be thought to ſignifie the grievous Trials of the Iſraelites, whoſe Miſeries were increaſed after the firſt Attempt for their Deliverance; which ſeemed to them a ſtrange way of proceeding, V Exod. 19, 22, 23. But by Temptations, may in this place be, in general, meant Miracles, as the Hebrews underſtand it, and the Chaldee word Teneſſin ſignifies. This, and the two following words being of the very ſame import with the three words in the New Teſtament, which we often meet withal, (and ſeem to be taken from hence) foreign, With Miracles, Wonders, and Signs, II Act. 22. 2 Corinth. XII. II Hebr. 4.
By Signs.] Which are mentioned, IV Exod. 9. VII. 9, 10.
And by Wonders.] This ſignifies all the Ten Plagues of Egypt: For Pharaoh would not let the Iſraelites go, till God had multiplied his Wonders on the Land of Egypt, as we read, VII Exod. 3. X. 1, 2. XI. 9, 10.
And by War.] This ſeems to relate to the Overthrow of Pharaoh, in the Red Sea; where the LORD is ſaid to fight for Iſrael, (XIV Exod. 14. XV. 3.) while they, which is the greateſt Wonder of all, were delivered without ſtriking a ſtroke.
And by a mighty Hand, and a ſtretched-out Arm.] Theſe are Phraſes which we often meet withal, when Moſes ſpeaks of their Deliverance out of Egypt. III Exod. 19. VI. 6. XV. 12. and many other places. And the Hebrews think, that his mighty Hand particularly refers to the grievous Murrain, and the Peſtilence, which are called the Hand of the LORD, X Exod. 3, 15. And his ſtretched-out Arm, to have a particular reſpect to the killing of the Firſt-born; the Angel that was going to ſmite Jeruſalem, appearing with a drawn Sword, and his Hand ſtretched out, I Chron. XXI. 16.
And by great Terrors.] Wherewith the Minds of thoſe were ſtuck who heard of theſe things, XV Exod. 14, 15, 16. Or elſe he means the Frights in which the Egyptians were, while they remained three Days in moſt diſmal Darkneſs, (X Exod. 23.) for the concluſion of this Verſe ſignifies, that he ſpeaks of all that the LORD their God did for them in Egypt, before their Eyes.
Verſe 35 Ver. 35. Ʋnto thee it was ſhewed.] This was a particular kindneſs to the Iſraelites, which God never before manifeſted to any other Nation.
That thou mightest know that the LORD he is God: there is none elſe beſides him.] That they might believe him to be the only true God, and worſhip none but him. Which two Articles, ſaith Maimonides, (More Nevochim, P. II. Cap. XXXIII.) that God is, and that he is but One; are Fundamentals of Religion, which were known not only by Prophets, but by every Body elſe.
Verſe 36 Ver. 36. Out of Heaven he made thee to hear his Voice.] See XX Exod. 22.
That he might inſtruct thee.] Teach them his Will, which was chiefly declared in the Ten Commandments.
And upon Earth he ſhewed thee his great Fire.] He means either that they ſaw it as they ſtood upon the Earth; or, that it burnt upon the top of the Mount in their ſight, XXIV Exod. 17.
And thou heardest his Words out of the midst of the Fire.] Ver. 11, 12. and XX Exod. 18, 19.
Verſe 37 Ver. 37. And becauſe he loved thy Fathers, therefore he choſe their Seed after them. See XV Gen. 5, 6, 7. And many other Places in that Book, III Exod. 15, 16, 17.
And brought them out in his ſight with a mighty power.] For as he led them the way out of Egypt, in a Pillar of Cloud, and of Fire, (XIII Exod. 21.) So when they were in danger by Pharaoh's purſuit of them, he came behind them, and they marched in his ſight, XIV Exod. 19.
Out of Egypt.] This is mentioned in Scripture as the higheſt Benefit, never to be forgotten by them. So G. Sckickard obſerves, (in his Miſchpat Hamelek, Cap. III. Theorem X.) That they are put in Mind of this, in the Frontiſpiece of the Decalogue, XX Exod. 2. in the Inſtitution of Sacrifices, XXII Levit. 33. in the Promiſe of a Bleſſing, XXVI. 13. and here, in the enumeration of God's wonderful Works; and afterwards, in the commendation of his Love, VII Deut. 8. in his Dehortation from Ingratitude, VIII. 14. in his Inſtitution of the Paſſover, XVI. 6. in the Speech which the reproving Angel made to them, II Judges 1. in the hope he gave them of Victory over the Midianites, VI. 9. in his Anſwer to their Petition for a King, I Sam. X. 18. and on a great many other occaſions: For this was, Velut Fundamentum & initium Reipublicae, &c. as another learned German ſpeaks, (Gierus on IX Dan. 15.) the Foundation as we may call it, and the Beginning of their Commonwealth founded by God; which comprehended in it abundance of Miracles, far exceeding all the Power of Nature.
Ver. 38. To drive out Nations before thee greater Verſe 38 and mightier than thou art.] So mighty that they frighted their Fathers from attempting the Conqueſt of them, XIII Numb. 28, 29, 31.
To bring thee in to give thee their Land for an Inheritance, as it is this day.] That is, as he had given them a late Experiment, by overthrowing the two Kings of the Amorites, and giving them their Land for a poſſeſſion.
Verſe 39 Ver. 39. Know therefore this day, and conſider it in thy Heart, that the LORD, he is God in Heaven above, and upon the earth, and there is none elſe.] Be ſenſible therefore, and ſettle this Belief in thy Heart, that the LORD is the ſole Governour of the whole World.
Verſe 40 Ver. 40. Thou ſhalt therefore keep his Statutes and his Commandments, which I command thee this day, &c.] Worſhip and obey him, as the only way to make them and their Poſterity live happily in the Land, which God was about to give them.
That it may be well with thee, and with thy Children after thee, and that thou mayst prolong thy days upon the earth, &c.] Tho' Moſes ſpeak of their long Life upon Earth, yet the better ſort of Jews did not ſet up their reſt here; but from this word prolong, extended their hope as far as the other World: For thus Maimonides ſaith, (in his Preface to Perek Chelek) they were taught by Tradition to expound theſe Words, That it may be well with thee, in the World which is all good; and mayest prolong thy days, in the World which is all long, i. e. never ends.
Verſe 41 Ver. 41. Then Moſes ſevered three Cities.] I obſerved in the Preface to this Book, that Moſes did not deliver all that is contained in this Book, in one continued Speech; but at ſeveral times, as appears even by the beginning of the next Chapter, where it is ſaid, He called all Iſrael, and ſaid unto them, &c. Which ſuppoſes, that after this Preface in theſe four Chapters, he diſmiſſed them to conſider what he had ſaid; and then ſome time after aſſembled the People again, to put them in Mind of the Laws, which he ſo earneſtly preſſed them to obſerve. But between theſe two times, (after he had ſpoken all that is contained in theſe four Chapters, and before he rehearſed the Decalogue) he put in execution the Command of God lately given, to ſet apart three Cities of Refuge on this ſide Jordan: Which he here relates, in the order, I ſuppoſe, wherein it was done.
On this ſide Jordan, towards the Sun-riſing.] On the Eaſt-ſide of Jordan, according to what was ordered, XXXV Numb. 14.
Ver. 42. That the Slayer might flee thither, which Verſe 42 ſhould kill his Neighbour unawares, &c.] See there, v. 11, 12, &c.
Ver. 43. Namely, Bezer in the Wilderneſs, in the Verſe 43 plain Country of the Reubenites, and Ramoth in Gilead of the Gadites, and Goſhen in Baſhan, of the Manaſſites.] Thus they are ſet down alſo in the Book of Joſhua, XX. 8. XXI. 27, 36, 38.
Ver. 44. And this is the Law which Moſes ſet before Verſe 44 the Children of Iſrael.] Now follows the Law, which (after the forementioned aſſignation of the Cities of Refuge) Moſes ſet before all the People, and preſſed them to the obſervance of it.
Ver. 45. Theſe are the Teſtimonies, and the Statutes, Verſe 45 and the Judgments.] As the next Chapter contains the Law; that is, the Ten Commandments, which Moſes ſet before them: So, in ſeveral following Chapters, (after new earneſt Exhortations to Obedience) he repreſents to them the reſt of God's Will, comprehended under theſe three words; Teſtimonies, Statutes, and Judgments: Some of which belong to the Divine Service, others to their Civil Government, and the reſt to Ceremonial Obſervations, for the better ſecurity and preſervation of both the former.
Which Moſes ſpake unto the Children of Iſrael, after they came forth out of Egypt.] Which he had formerly delivered to them, after they were come out of the Egyptian Bondage, in the XXI, XXII, XXIII Chapters of Exodus, and in the following Books.
Verſe 46 Ver. 46. On this ſide Jordan, &c.] In this, and the two following Verſes, he again mentions the place and the time, when and where he ſet before them the Law, and the Teſtimonies, Statutes and Judgments, recorded in the following part of this Book: Which he repeats, that all Poſterity might obſerve, theſe Diſcourſes were made a little before he died.
In the Valley over against Beth-peor.] III. Ʋlt.
In the Land of Sihon King of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heſhbon.] II. 24, 31, &c.
Whom Moſes and the Children of Iſrael ſmote, after they were come forth out of Egypt.] In the fortieth Year after their departure thence: As appears from XXI Numb. 24. XXXIII. 38.
Verſe 47 Ver. 47. And they poſſeſſed his Land, and the Land of Og King of Baſhan, &c.] See XXI Numb. 33, &c.
Verſe 48 Ver. 48. From Aroer, which is by the Bank of the River Arnon, even unto Mount Sion, which is Hermon.] The Mount here called Sion, is not that which was ſo famous in After-times, when David made it the Royal Seat; for that was on the other ſide Jordan, and is written with different Letters in the Hebrew: But in all probability, is a Contraction of Sirion; which is the Name by which the Sidonians called Hermon: For the Bounds of this Country are ſo deſcribed, III. 8, 9, 12. to extend from the River Arnon, to Mount Hermon, which is called Sirion.Chapter V.
Ver. 49. And all the Plain on this ſide Jordan Eaſtward, even unto the Sea of the Plain.] See III. 17. Verſe 49
Ʋnder the Springs of Piſgah.] The ſame place there called Aſhdod-Piſgah. Which is exactly deſcribed after the ſame manner, by Benjamin Tudelenſis, in his Itinerary, ſet forth by L'Empereur, p. 51. Where he ſaith, that Jordan is called at Tiberias, the Sea of Geneſareth; and coming from thence with a great force, falls, at the foot of this Hill, into the Sea of Sodom, which is called the Salt Sea.